Transcript

00:00:01

>> The Iraqi military gearing up for the big prize after a string of victories against Islamic State, Mosul, Islamic State's capital for two years. And until the army's battlefield fortunes turned, it seemed too ambitious a goal. But Reuters reporter Stephen Kalin in Baghdad says momentum is now building.

00:00:21

>> Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi promised at the end of last year, that 2016 would be the year that Mosul is retaken from Islamic State and the group was kicked out of Iraq completely. Initially, that target was greeted with skepticism by a lot of allies and the coalition backing Iraq's forces.

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But now for the first time, it looks like this target might actually be met. We heard from a senior diplomat based here in Baghdad, as well as a western official, that Al-Abadi wants to start the campaign around October. Although there is some disagreement, especially in Washington, about whether Iraqi forces will be ready.

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Remember that the Iraqi military nearly collapsed two years ago when the Islamic State took Mosul. And with the help of the coalition, they've been trying to rebuild themselves. There's also the added complication that Mosul is a very diverse city made up of not just Sunnis, as in many of the cities that have been retaken from Islamic State recently.

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But there are Shia, there are Christians. There are Yazidis, there are Kurds. And so that mix of ethnic and sectarian communities can create a real combustible situation. So the Iraqis will have to figure out how that's going to work, as well.